Noted Authors

Many of these keynote authors have written important books that RMA Candidates and Certificate Holders will want to read over time.

The Book of Tea, by Kakuzo Okakura In this 2011 expanded edition, readers will discover the fascinating character of Okakura Kakuzo and the story of how he came to write one of the twentieth century’s most influential books on art, beauty, and simplicity all steeped in the world’s communal cup of tea.

What Investors Really Want, (view TABLE OF CONTENTS) by Meir Statman, Professor of Finance at Santa Clara University and Special Advisor the RIIA Board of Directors, will be available in November. Says Meir, “This book is about what we want from our investments. This book is about normal investors like you and me. As you read it, you will recognize the cognitive errors and emotions that stand in your way to smart financial decisions. And you will learn to overcome them.” As a convenience to RIIA Members, you may order the book at the best possible price via the RIIA website.

The Fourth Turning continues the project of mapping out the place of generations in history. Retiring Boomers are not the only lifecycle transition taking place among the generations. The Fourth Turning puts our (Boomer) transition in a broad historical context of historical seasons. This framework explains many past mysteries and much like weather forecasting it allows us to see a bit into the future. Dark as this hour may be, light should be returning – and perhaps on schedule if we are lucky.

Knowledge and the Wealth of Nations: A Story of Economic Discovery by David Warsh

David gives an entertaining and precise history of economic thought from Adam Smith to Paul Romer who ultimately divided economics into people, ideas and things, instead of labor, capital and land, he touched off a revolution in the field, one that is still playing out in now-dominant “New Growth Theory” economics. Featured at the RIIA Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner 2008

Shaping Things by Bruce Sterling

Bruce Sterling offers a brilliant, often hilarious, history of shaped things where we have moved from an age of artifacts, made by hand, through complex machines, to the current era of “gizmos.” Through the book, Bruce asks us to consider how we can create a sustainable future. Bruce is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction author
and futurist. Featured at RIIA’s 2008 Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner and RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income 2009 Conference

Are You a Stock or a Bond? Create Your Own Pension Plan for a Secure Financial
Future by Moshe Milevsky

“The author presents a holistic framework for investors and advisors to think about critical issues that impact
investment decisions, such as human capital, mortality risk, and longevity risk. But even more importantly, Milevsky presents practicalsolutions that we can all follow to achieve financial security throughout our lives. This book is a must-read for everyone in the financial services industry.” – Peng Chen, President, Ibbotson Associates and RIIA Board Member. Featured at RIIA’s Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner 2008

Moshe’s latest book, Your Money Milestones: A Guide to Making the 9 Most Important Financial Decisions of Your Life.

In Worry-free Investing, the authors argue that most investors should forget about traditional asset classes–especially stocks–and should abandon traditional approaches to risk management. Those saving for retirement or for a child’s college education should instead invest in “risk-free” assets. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2007

Financial Economics by Zvi Bodie, a co-author with Robert Merton and David Cleeton

This book offers an approach balanced among the three “pillars” of finance-optimization over time, asset valuation, and risk management. Featured at RIIA’s Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner 2008

Retirement Income Redesigned: Master Plans for Distribution: An Adviser’s Guide for Funding Boomers’ Best Years by Harold Evensky and Deena B. Katz

For years, financial planners have focused on helping their clients accumulate wealth for retirement. Now, as millions of those boomer clients head into retirement, there is little quality information on how to manage that wealth in retirement. Evensky and Katz, two of the nation’s best-known financial planners, asked leading experts to give
advisers a toolkit and roadmap to the new landscape. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2008

Mean Markets and Lizard Brains: How to Profit from the New Science of Irrationality by Terry Burnham

This book focuses on behavioral finance and neuroeconomics with research that investigates behavioral errors that
investors tend to make, and methods to exploit them with disciplined stock selection strategies. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2008

The Singularity Is Near by Ray Kurzweil

Continuing the themes of The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999), Ray Kurzweil further expounds his conviction
that the human being will be succeeded by a super-intelligent entity that is partly biological, partly computerized. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2007

The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism by Howard Bloom

“The Genius of the Beast explains the centrality of understanding our client’s emotions. It explains the paramount importance of delivering outcomes that satisfy those emotions, and of delivering those outcomes in an ethical manner. This message is fundamental in a time when there’s a fracture in the investment business as we continue the shift towards retirement management.” – François Gadenne, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of RIIA. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2009

Spend ‘Til the End: The Revolutionary Guide to Raising Your Living Standard – Today and When You Retire by Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Scott Burns

In Spend ‘Til the End, the authors take a more cheerful tack, guiding the would-be retiree on the most efficient ways to maintain a decent standard of living during the golden years. Featured at RIIA’s Managing Retirement Income Conference 2009

Unveiling the Retirement Myth by Jim C. Otar

Here is a fresh look at lifelong retirement income planning, based on 109 years of market history. Extensive research shows that many of the fundamental concepts used in the current retirement planning practice are mostly useless. Featured at the RIIA 2010 Spring Conference

Business Is Hard; Failure Is Optional: CEOs’ Choices and Challenges by Sam Khoury

Intended for CEOs with a genuine desire to transform themselves. This book was written by a turnaround and crisis-management specialist — a successful CEO who wrote it for CEOs and those who envision themselves as future CEOs. Featured at RIIA’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner

Annuities for Dummies by Kerry Pechter, editor of Retirement Income Journal online magazine and The RIIA Advisory Process by François Gadenne and Michael Zwecher

This completely revised and updated, plain-English guide is packed with the latest information on choosing the best annuity for retirement needs. Featured at the RIIA Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner 2008